This image was posted today in an Alembic facebook group and it struck me that our Jimmy seems to have a flair for design. :-) Check out how he neatly organises the excess string length at the headstock to match the shape, instead of cutting the strings to length. Any more interesting designs from members?

Dylan triangles maybe? Ha! For me this happens when I'm traveling light and have no wire cutters. Just trying to bend the excess out of the way so nobody (including me) gets skewered.

I change strings often so it's a pretty quick operation. My tailpiece is pins which the ball of the string slips onto. 1-1/2 turns around the tuning peg, bend it into the slot, and either trim the excess or make triangles. I could probably do it in the dark. Ha!!

When my wife and I met Jimmy a while back, thanks again Jimmy, I was surprised that he wasn't as tall as I expected. He's of typical height and while his fingers are longer than mine I don't recall them being supernatural in length.

I often try to practice that one-finger-to-a-fret reach, and somehow never use it as I should. That second picture, how both hands are positioned (his plucking fingers almost straight instead of rolled under), that Series Bass strapped up high on the body, this picture made real how he's always talked about using one axe only, the same strings all these years (I'd recognize those red-yarned Boomers anywhere, though I think in this pic it's a Christmas tree shape!), etc: This is someone obviously so very at ease with his instrument, as he's just had so long to live with it, a totally different concept than most 'session players' who can show up with trunks of axes for a single date (or at least they ysed to . . . . ).

Thanks for the kind words my friends and I'm sorry to hijack this thread. Come over to my sub-folder and we'll talk more...

That second picture caught me in an unusual stretch and I think I even know what song we were playing. Chad's "the Fifth" was the Holdsworth trio's opening tune for several years. It's a low-F pedal for the most part and occasionally I would reach for and play a C on the G-string at the same time - an octave and a 5th (after all, the song is called the 5th). I can't hold this for long but I like the momentary effect. In fact, it doesn't appear that I was making it to the low-F in that picture. That was probably buzzing nastily which would explain the concerned look on my face. HA!!

Keep in mind that my neck width is roughly that of a standard 4-string so that helps me (almost) reach this. And why don't I just play the low F on the B-string? Well, I would do that in passing but prefer the E-string's F for a truer fundamental... Blah blah blah...

As far as my one-bass-fits-all thing, everybody has their own approach and I have big respect for guys who have a wide palette of bass sounds to offer and know which axe would sound best on which track, etc. Most studio guys do that. I'm the oddball in this way. But I've been lucky to have been able to fit into a wide variety of musical situations while making the only sound I know how to make.

Well even with my humble signature electronics and 2 Q switches I can emulate the thump of a P bass, the mid range honk of a J bass and even the clanky sound of a Ricky...took me some time though, what players don't realise with Alembics is that the slightest adjustment on the filter can produce dramatic results, I would dearly love to try a Series II with it's Vari-Q. Took me six months to master mine, I guess locking myself away with an SII for a year would be suffice!

Signature electronics are pretty much second nature to me now I can get to the sounds as needed. I pick up the SII and it's still a different ball game for sure. But hey Terry if i'm gigging up your way again I will bring my SII and if I can get you in for soundcheck you are welcome to try it out.